Random thoughts and rants on boat design, boat building, and other boat bits for those in the 99%...
About that USCG scam, some needful situational info on what's going on, and in the "Is this insane or what?" department...
Well, this is kind of cool.
I've long considered the idea of building and using a skin-on-frame dinghy but, so far, have not come across the right design. This construction method has me thinking that this just might be the right approach.
Looking forward to seeing how this company's product holds up in the real world.
Listening to the Linda Lindas
So it goes...
Some well earned karma, EBM on that Texass thing, and in the "Just so wrong" department...
The other day I had an email from a guy who, apparently, needed to tell me that he would never build a Bolger design because his boats were ugly and. since Phil was no longer living he would not be able to answer questions that arise in the building process.
Now, for starters, I personally feel that Bolger's designs are anything but ugly and some of his designs are actually beautiful. That said, I'm aware that some folks take issue with some of his designs like our Loose Moose and Loose Moose 2 but, as far as I'm concerned, I'll just point out that when form and function come together in a positive manner the design will reflect that.
On the subject of not choosing a design because the designer is not around to answer your questions, I'll just point out that the designers job pretty much ends when the drawings are done as any good design will have all the information you'll need to build the boat.
Then again, if you don't have the needful skill set to build a given design it's really time to either acquire the skills or choose a design that better reflects your abilities. The bottom line is that it's not the designers job to hold your hand and spoon-feed you what you should already know...
Listening to a Captain Beefheart cover
So it goes...
Some Supreme Court induced fuckery, a quick dose of insanity, and a different sort of Afghanistan story that's well worth reading...
While it's been decades since I last drove a car but I do keep an eye on what's happening on the automotive front.
As it happens, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport caught my attention as the body is constructed partly of natural fibers including hemp and flax which mirror the strength, stiffness, and weight of carbon fiber. On the plus side, hemp and flax are both sustainable raw materials and much less costly than carbon or glass fiber.
Of course, using sustainable materials in an automobile that is a black hole for the use of petroleum products is just so much greenwashing but it does point out that natural composite structures are a reality and given the right sort of project (spelled b-o-a-t) could make a whole lot of sense.
Listening to The Beach Boys
So it goes...
Regarding advanced tech/magic interfaced with a dumbed down population, a wet future, and what you need to know about seagrass...
Small Boats Magazine has a great article on Phil Thiel's Escargot that you really should take a look at. As it happens, I'm a huge fan of the Escargot and have often considered building the Escargot or it's slightly bigger sibling the Joliboat and keeping it on the French canals as a Pied d'Eau.
Listening to France Gall
So it goes...
Greta making an excellent point, some needful reading on climate, and in the "Stupidity has consequences" department...
I'm not much of a powerboat person. That said, the first time I read about Phil Bolger's Samuel Clyde design I said to myself this is a very cool boat.
As it happens the boat is still for sale and sure looks like an awesome deal for someone at $8500. which include a triple wheel trailer.
Listening to some Jim Steinman songs
So it goes...
An excellent article on the late Tim Severin, not exactly surprising, and some Gulf Stream news...
Some recent emails concerning my post on Michael Schacht's Ghibli design gets to the heart of what's currently wrong with the current state of home building and restoring/rehabbing classic plastic sailboats for cruising.
In short, everyone wants to take something simple and complicate the living hell out of it.
In the case of the Ghibli just about every email wanted to make it longer, beamier, add dagger boards or foils, change the rig, change the propulsion system, make it out of something other than plywood, and just, in general, make a pretty simple design over complicated and a whole lot more expensive.
Which sorta/kinda misses the whole point of what a stock plan is all about.
Now, I'm sure that Michael would love to do a custom catamaran design just for you and would do his very best to make all of your dreams of what a perfect catamaran is a reality. But, it will cost you a serious chunk of change as well as a chunk of time.
Stock plans, on the other hand, can be bought for a fraction of the price of custom plans the savings of which will buy a chunk of materials that you can build your boat with which greatly appeals to my Mr Cheapseats proclivities.
As it happens, I've had two different designers design boats for me and the experience was wonderful in one case and awful in the other. The awful case being so depressing that I vowed to never repeat the getting a boat designed for just me ever again.
Stock plans, on the other hand are already finished (well except for those designers of the vaporware ilk) and you know exactly what the boat is going to be from the get go providing you actually follow the plans.
A good stock plan gives you everything you need to know about building a particular boat and that is really all it should provide. Over the years the idea of what a stock plan is supposed to be has morphed into more of a designer assisted learning experience which is somewhat problematic as a designer really should not be your nanny in the process of building your boat. The idea of 24/7 access to the designer so you can discuss how to do stuff you already should know on the subject of boatbuilding really should not be part of the process.
Designer as boatbuilding nanny brings up a couple of points as in my experience if you don't know how to build a boat when you start you're in for a very, shall we say, interesting experience that will not result in a good boat. Secondly, the fact is that building a couple of dinghies will give you the needful experience to get into a bigger cruising boat project.
George Buehler and Reuel Parker have both written excellent how-to books on building boats that will answer all your questions in terms of how to build their respective designs and it would be no bad thing if other designers followed their example. That said, I have a shelf full of boatbuilding books that I tend to use all the time on just about every boat project I find myself working on. Seriously, a few books on your shelf is a whole lot better than having your designer on speed-dial so you can interrupt his/her Sunday dinner with questions on why your epoxy is not setting up or how to make a proper scarf.
So, getting back to Ghibli, it's a small simple plywood catamaran that has any number of excellent features that would be possible to build in a reasonably short time for a moderate budget. Which in my eyes is a pretty impressive package of features in a small affordable envelope. It might or might not be the catamaran of your dreams but you really should take the time to actually look at what's there instead of trying to adapt it to something it's not.
Listening to the late Bunny Wailer
So it goes...
A doorstop keyboard, Texas blowback, and in the "plastic, plastic everywhere" department...
Over the years I've heard rumors of the wonderfulness of dinghies designed by Julian Godwin in New Zealand. The problem is that as much as I've kept an eye out for a up close and personal sighting or getting my hands on a set of plans I've never quite been able to be in the right place at the right time...
"There was a Kiwi boat here the other day with a really cool dinghy you'd have loved"
...was as close as I've come.
So, imagine my surprise to see a post from Roy McBride of CKD Boats that they are now selling kits for Godwin boats and that they were also selling plans!
In the sort of odd coincidence that no longer surprises me anymore the very next day a reader dropped me an email saying I should really write something about Godwin boats and included a link to Julian Godwin's website. A site and designs that are well worth checking out.
One design, the Crackerjack, really caught my eye as I've always been in quest of a dinghy design that would only require a single sheet of plywood to build.
Sure, there are countless single sheet plywood designs but all of them are more suited for kids and not large enough to fulfill the requirements of a proper dinghy. To be honest, I've pretty much given up the quest and had filed it away with the search for an honest politician and other impossible dreams of my long departed youth.
So, yeah, the Crackerjack...
Obviously it's a small dinghy but it only uses one sheet of plywood and is very close in terms of size and usability as these dinghies which all require at least two sheets of plywood to construct them. Not only would the two sheet ply dinghies cost more but they would also weigh more as well.
I'm really looking forward to getting the plans, building one and putting it through its paces. In the meantime I'd really love to hear from any readers who have either built or used one of the Godwin dinghies as it will be awhile until I get the Crackerjack into the building queue.
Listening to Rufus Wainwrite
So it goes...
An excellent argument for the use of vaccines, some wage theft fuckery, and some very good news for Puerto Rico...
Not too long ago looking at various multihull plans I had a moment of realization that I haven't seen a new smaller design in ages. Every new "cruising" multihull I've come across is of the bigger is better sort. More cabins, fore and aft cockpits, bridgedeck flybridges, and a whole lot more complexity.
Now, the word "simple" when associated with a potential cruising boat has me salivating like one of Pavlog's dogs. Simplifying a product happens to be what used to be an evolutionary step in the design process along with making things more affordable and compact (if you need an example just think computers). Sadly, at least where boat design is concerned, it's just the opposite.
In spite of appearances, I don't really wear rose-colored-glasses when looking at older designs although I do appreciate the fact that most older designs were purposed more for cruising rather than charter. Still, most older designs could use some serious improvements because there really have been a lot of advances in boatbuilding during the last couple of decades.
For instance, as much as I like Jim Brown's trimarans or Wharram's catamarans I have to keep in mind that construction methods and materials have improved and, just maybe, taking the basic design and bringing it into the current century might not be a bad thing. Even better is the idea that one might also be able to make a less expensive greener boat with a smaller carbon footprint while you're doing it.
Now, wouldn't that be some kind of progress.
More on the subject soon come.
Listening to ten songs on a paradisaical theme
So it goes...
A bit of good news on the justice front, a book I'd like to read, and in the "Deeply, darkly terrible" department...
I've been catching up on various boat stuff while watching the Impeachment and notices that Michael over at Proa File has a post on a Paul Bieker power boat design that really caught my attention.
Maybe it's because I really appreciate low horsepower power boats that get their performance from design rather than just bolting on a big outboard on the transom and getting it through brute force. Or maybe it's just that I really admire a good practical design that makes a lot of sense.
Offhand my first thought, when confronted with this design, was what a great small scale commercial fishing boat it would make here in the USVI as it would be much cheaper than the boats that folks are currently using as well as lowering the operating costs of the local fishermen by (and I'm guessing) between 75-90%.
Boy do we need more designs like this.
Listening to Caroline Polachek
So it goes...
An easy math problem, seems that the tRump campaign has been busy, and in the "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" department...
The new Small Boats Magazine has an excellent article on a cruiser of the rowing sort that you might want to check out.
The boat in question is the Row/Cruiser design from Angus Rowboats which is a seriously sweet ride.
Listening to five good covers.
So it goes...
Regarding the making of masks, a very interesting article on Hawaiian shirts, and in the "Muzzled, suppressed, and sidelined" department...
The other day someone asked me what sort of boat I'd like to go cruising on and, while no single boat comes to mind, this is a boat that I'd enjoy cruising.
Not surprising at all, regarding hydroxychloroquine, and in the "Know your enemy" department...
Michael from Proa File has been working on a very cool fishing boat.
Weaselly words of note, why you shouldn't visit Puerto Rico and the USVI for the foreseeable future, and in the "Sure seems like martial law to me" department...
This actually sounds like it will be great.
A distinction of note, the question for today, and in the "So now we have to worry about occult neo-nazis?" department...
This boat is just so cool!
EBM pretty much says it all, Senator Tammy Duckworth with the needful, and I'll just add that Mayor Muriel Bowser is now my favorite politician in the US of A...
The other day I had someone tell me that they'd only go cruising on the best boat available and how they were quite willing to wait as long as it takes. Then pointed out that, unlike me, he'd never lower himself to settle for less.
Or, in other words, "All or nothing".
For me, the scary part of that is it really doesn't take into account that what is considered "best" today will, more than likely, be something entirely different tomorrow.
Fact is the whole "All or nothing" mindset is a huge factor when it comes to setting yourself up for failure. Whether you're learning a language (I won't speak French until I can speak it perfectly), building a boat (I won't launch the boat until it's absolutely flawless), or I won't vote for a candidate unless they're 100% to my liking... The list is endless.
I recently read that one of the main reasons people fail while on a diet is simply that if they, let's say eat a donut they should not have, then tell themselves that as the days shot diet-wise they might as well just go whole hog and skip it entirely for the rest of the day instead of admitting they screwed up and continue with their diet as planned albeit with a couple hundred extra calories in the mix.
But hey, that's just me and I apparently have low standards. Je parle français come une vache Espagnole, I've built a lot of boats and every single one has been imperfect but they all worked and floated right side up, and while I have never met a politician who I agree with 100% of the time I have always endeavored to support the ones who will (hopefully) do the better job when elected.
Or you might just say I try to do the best possible with what's available which, for me at least, makes a whole lot more sense than the all or nothing fandango.
Listening to Krakin' Kellys
So it goes...
A very scary map, five SFF books with a nautical connection you might want to add to your reading list, and something you need to read about...
Flax and Biocomposite.
My main question is where do home builders go to access some of the new materials coming down the pike.
Listening to some David Olney songs
So it goes...
Today in the "We're so fucked" department, regarding 200 million pounds of turkey, and on the subject of last chance tourism...
Antoine Beaulieu recently garnered the winning entry in the IBEX 2019 Design Challenge: Imagining the boats of 2050.
A climate summit of interest, some seriously stupid fucked up shit, and in the "It's back to school time kids" department...
Some not-so-great Puerto Rico news, profiles in cowardice, and something that might make you want to pound your head against the bulkhead until the pain stops...
Interesting.
Listening to an Iron Leg Radio Show
So it goes...
Regarding Puerto Rico, a bit of good news, and something you should keep in mind...
For a variety of reasons I've been looking at boats in the 25-30 foot range, thinking a lot about downsizing, and the bottom line where most bang for the buck can be found.
You'd be amazed at how many excellent cheap boats are out there.
For instance: did you know you can buy a Lyle Hess designed cruising boat that's trailerable with enough room for a couple to live on comfortably (providing they can deal with the headroom) with a working engine for less than $3000 if you shop around?
That's a lot of boat for very little money.
